The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-02-09
H
Comments and Conclusions of the Deni-
zen of Blues Gulley.

BLUES GULLEY.
Since my last [ see from The Pro
GREss1vE FARMER that the farmers
have held a Convention in Raleigh
and that the editor was present and
took part in the meeting. [ wish |
could have been there. The dele
gate from our club reports some
strange things. He says that some
of the commission merchants and
guano sellers were present and tried
hard for over an hour to get charge
of the Convention and that some of
the twelve departments of the Agri-
cultural Department were heavily
represented and in some respects
greatly Influenced the Convention,
and in this way got the Convention
to indorse the Immigration Depart
ment, the Oyster Department and
the Experiment Farm Department.
In his opinion if the farmers Of
North Carolina ever wish to secure
their rights they will have to do as
the railroads do, hire about forty
Raleigh Lawyers to lobby for them
in the Legislature. He says the
Railroads get in this way every
thing they want and no matter who
is elected to the Legislature they get
all the negroes in the Penitentiary
for nothing and make the honest
people of the State pay all the board
and other expenses of these convicts.
| don't think that our delegate
expects the Legislature to notice
the bill the Farmers Convention
prepared. The Legislature is wholly
under the influence of a few party
leaders and the hired lobbyists. Now
[ hope this is not so, for if the farmers
bill is ignored or defeated, in my
opinion it will get mixed up in the
next campaign, and if so, those who
vote against it will be left at home
forever hereafter.
| endorse much that was said in
the Convention, and wish a full re-
port had been given, but | am sorry
they endorsed the immigration De-
partment as in these parts that and
the Oyster Department and the
Department of Southern Pines go
together. am glad the Convention
organized for life and hope it will
live a thousand years, and | am
glad it elected two of the best farm
ers IN North Carolina it's President
and Secretary.
1t would be interesting to know
what the big politicians and the big
men in Office think of the Convention.
A mar from Raleigh was down here
this week and he says that these
men IRE making lots of fun of the
late meeting and regard the Conven-
tlon as a ridiculous failure and he
gives it as his opinion that the bill
the Convention adopted will be
greatly modified if not changed by
the committee through the influence
of some of the foreign immigrants
and department men who were put
on the committee, and that if it is
presented at all to the Legislature it
will be badly cut up and amended,
if considered at all. If this isso, the
Farmers Convention next year will
have something to do and say about
I~ :
l notice that some Of the papers
that come to u post-Office say
nothing about the Convention in
Raleigh and some make sport of the
meeting. Only n or two seem to
believe that the meeting was a sue
cess and that the farmers mean to
hold together and do something.
| like the idea of an Agricultural
school and hope the farmers will
keep hammering at it till the Col
lege is established. But even this
College will be of no use to us unless
practical men T. put there who
what to teach. If the depart
hent send to New York or Germany
for a faculty it will be as big a fail
ure as the experiment farm. But
let us start it any way and when
the farmers take charge of the State
they a then make it right as they
will then have at least 100000 to
appropriate to it which is now given
to foreign corporations to improve
their property and fee lawyers with.
Did you v think of the fact, Mr.
Editor, that the New York and Phil
adelphia s~yndicates who own nearly